My sophomore year of college, I discovered SNL.
I saw my first skit sitting cross-legged in a Lambein double, at the ripe old age of nineteen. Many die-hard fans will probably be shocked by this, but I grew up without YouTube and still don’t spend much time there (which is not to say I’m without vices. I just don’t count cat videos among them). Every once in a while, however, I indulge. Especially when I’m upset about politics. Like eating mashed potatoes after a bad day, there is nothing that makes me feel better about our government than watching someone impersonate our government.
My junior year of college, I stopped watching SNL.
Not because it wasn’t funny anymore, or because the humor got too raunchy. I stopped watching SNL because one day I realized that it had – unconsciously – become a source of political information. It was an innocuous enough affair. My dad and I spend much of our time together arguing politics; we both love it. And one moment, in the heat of a fierce debate (which I was absolutely winning) he asked “where did you hear that?” The image of Leslie Jones floated through my mind, and I realized I had just used the premise of an SNL skit to back up a political position. I’m a journalist. It was a moment of deep shame.
My senior year of college, I’ve become the editor of an Opinions section.
SNL isn’t fact. It is based on facts, but it does not contain sources or quotes or peer review. It’s opinions. It’s humor. It’s people taking real life events and examining them, drawing inspiration from the world to make an audience think. Fundamentally, this is also what a good opinions piece does. Traditionally, Opinions Editors have started the year by talking about the purpose of this section. Why do we have an Opinions section? What does it do for us that the Features or the News section cannot? What – as a reader – do you need to know about the articles you will find here?
To start, I want to define an “opinions piece” or “op ed” (opinion editorial). It is a newspaper article that presents a subjective argument about a chosen topic. This is slightly different than an editorial, which presents a subjective argument about a chosen topic from the perspective of the newspaper. And it is very different than a News or Features piece, which does not present an argument at all but merely facts. So for example, say I wish to write an article about how Metz is now stocking papaya in the salad bar. If this article was a Feature or News story, I would only write about things that can be proven: what inspired our cafeteria to take this action, when the papaya might start appearing, if it will go to the left of the cantaloupe or the right, etc. If I were to write a straight editorial on this same issue, I would present the opinion of the STAR staff. Melissa, Kayla, Michael and I would have a vigorous debate about papayas v. pineapples, and create an argument that lines up with the pre-determined voice and character of the STAR. I would then write this argument into an article and publish it anonymously, because it represents the opinion of the paper as a whole. If I were to write and op ed or opinions piece, however, I would write my own thoughts on the papaya issue (for the record, I endorse all exotic fruit options), and publish it under my name.
In the Houghton STAR, we do not have straight editorials. This is because the newspaper does not have a pre-determined voice or character to generate them. Rather, the STAR exists to represent students: their news and their opinions. Our constitution states “The mission of the Houghton Star is to preserve and promote the values of dialogue, transparency, and integrity that have characterized Houghton College since its inception. This will be done by serving as a medium for the expression of student thought.” The STAR fulfills this mission through editorials – through publishing the opinions of students for students. There is no political party line or “Houghton propaganda” that characterizes this section. It is rather characterized by the people who chose to write for it.
So back to the question of what might be in an Opinions Section and why we need such a section at all. I cannot promise that everything you read here will be provable or objective. That’s not what an opinions article is designed to do. It will not contain the sort of information you can quote to your father in a political argument. What it will contain is perspectives – ways of looking at the world that will challenge and enrich your own. We need this. We need to hear the opinions of our fellow students, and we need to learn to both express our thoughts and respect those of others. This is not possible until we recognize the difference between Opinions and other sections, just as we must recognize the difference between an SNL skit and a press release. Only when we understand the both the limitations and unique strengths of the medium will we be able to fully take advantage of the humor, insight, and ideas that are shared within it.
Anna is a senior majoring in writing.